Investigators said the cars don’t appear to have been targeted, but someone was rummaging through unlocked cars looking for valuables.

The first three handguns were reported stolen Friday after a backpack was taken from a parked car on Cedar Street, police said.

Another handgun was stolen Sunday from an unlocked sports utility vehicle parked in a driveway on Hubbard Street.

There were two reports of stolen guns on Myrtle Street Monday. A backpack with a gun inside may have been taken through an open car window. A handgun from another car was stolen along with its magazine, police said.

People who live in the neighborhood said they were startled by the incidents.

“It’s scary. I live down the street. It’s scary,” said one resident.

“Why leave your firearm in the car anyway? It should be locked up in a safe or in your closet on a top shelf where nobody can get it,” another resident said.

Police said some of the gun owners mistakenly though they locked their cars. However, locking a gun in a car is not enough, and a car is no place to store a firearm, police said.

“Certainly a firearm takes it to a different level. Not only is this item valuable and a costly loss to the victim, but it also leads to the potential that these dangerous items can be put into the hands of criminals,” said Lt. Maureen Tessier of the Manchester Police Department.